From pre-attentive processes to durable representation: An ERP index of visual distraction

• Published in: International journal of psychophysiology 2015-03, Vol.95 (3), p.310-321
• Main Authors: Sysoeva, Olga V., Lange, Elke B., Sorokin, Alexander B., Campbell, Tom
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Attention - physiology; Brain Mapping; Color change; Contingent Negative Variation - physiology; Distraction; Electroencephalography; Event-related potentials (ERP); Evoked Potentials, Visual - physiology; Female; Humans; Late fronto-central negativity (LFCN); Male; Memory - physiology; Mismatch negativity (MMN); Photic Stimulation; Reaction Time - physiology; Time Factors; Visual Perception - physiology; Visual search; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0167-8760; 1872-7697
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2014.12.007

Visual search and oddball paradigms were combined to investigate memory for to-be-ignored color changes in a group of 12 healthy participants. The onset of unexpected color change of an irrelevant stimulus evoked two reliable ERP effects: a component of the event-related potential (ERP), similar to the visual mismatch negativity response (vMMN), with a latency of 120–160ms and a posterior distribution over the left hemisphere and Late Fronto-Central Negativity (LFCN) with a latency of 320–400ms, apparent at fronto-central electrodes and some posterior sites. Color change of that irrelevant stimulus also slowed identification of a visual target, indicating distraction. The amplitude of this color-change vMMN, but not LFCN, indexed this distraction effect. That is, electrophysiological and behavioral measures were correlated. The interval between visual scenes approximated 1s (611–1629ms), indicating that the brain's sensory memory for the color of the preceding visual scenes must persist for at least 600ms. Therefore, in the case of the neural code for color, durable memory representations are formed in an obligatory manner. •An oddball paradigm, combined with a visual search task, measured memory for color.•Color deviant changes caused distraction, slowing visual search for a unique shape.•These color deviants also evoked the ERP components vMMN and LFCN.•vMMN correlated with the slowing of reaction times on the visual search task.•Vision thus has a memory enduring the minimal interstimulus interval of 600ms.